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Chapter 7 A Dove among Vipers

Bri

As we moved through the halls Trent dutifully beside Andy, he went to speak ‘Shh,’ I barely breathed, and Andy chuckled. “Sneaky, very sneaky,” he murmured in amusement ever so quietly. When we got to my bedroom I felt him motion for Trent to open the door. He laid me on the bed and the door clicked shut.

I groaned forcing myself to sit up. Trent was shaking his head, looking back and forth at us both. “How is this ok?” He said flabbergasted. “It's not,” we both said in tandem. “Th-Those other guys could be your dad or your grandfathers.” My stomach turned, it seemed so much worse when someone else said it out loud. “And Draven, that guy is like a pedophile, did you see how he stared at her all night?” My gut lurched and I propelled myself off the bed, stumbling into the bathroom to relieve myself of what little was in my stomach. After rinsing out my mouth I walked out with a hand towel, a glass of water, and some Advil. I plopped back down on my bed. “Andy I knew there were others but this is disgusting,” he said. “Tell that to my mother and she’ll be soo, soo proud of herself. You could brown-nose yourself into the little group if you wanted.” I said dryly. “And you. All this time I thought you were a willing participant in this. Why don’t you just run?” Andy spoke now. “She’s tried. They chipped her car, her phone, and covered the house in cameras. Plus they can tap into the cameras around the city and on the interstate. You’ve seen Draven’s setup. Not to mention what happened the last time,” Andy’s eyes met mine and I shook my head not to go there. “Why do they want you so badly? What's so special about you?” Andy asked. “Special? You call this being special?” I said and I fully met Trent’s eyes head-on for the first time pushing the bulk of my power to the surface for the mediocre witch to view. He stepped back, I had let the menacing part of my power forward. “Shit, sorry, I spoke before thinking,” he said, looking anywhere but at me. Andy sighed. “How the hell do you hide that from Silas?” Andy asked, impressed but unsurprised. I shrugged looking at my nails and ignoring him.

“This is insane,” Trent grumbled, his eyes catching the old record player and the shelves of vinyl beside it. His fingers traced the spines. He pulled one out looking at me questioningly. I nodded at the record player, popping the Advil into my mouth before gulping water. He placed it, dropping the needle down gingerly, allowing the jazzy blues to fill the room. I rolled my neck and sighed. “I’ve done what I can for now little bird,” Andy said. “I appreciate it,” I said with a slight bow of my head. “I’ll figure the rest out, don't worry about it, I'll be in your past in no time,” I said. A sweet smile forced its way through the sadness I couldn’t shake from my eyes as they stared off and away from the two young men.

“You have a plan?” He asked. I shook my head no. It was best that he knew nothing. I looked at Trent and let my mind into his. He was trying to wash the evening away, attempting to find quiet in the chaos. ‘Sorry to barge in,’ I said softly. His gaze shot to mine and I gave a slight shake of the head, glancing at Andy who was eyeing the books on the shelf opposite us. ‘If he knows what's planned they will play it against him, and he will have broken the contract by their standards, that's a death sentence. I am not your enemy. I never have been. I just want to live my life, and hopefully, one day make my father proud.’ Trent cocked his head thinking, which I gave him the privacy to do. He nodded. ‘Keep me posted.’ I said before grabbing some PJs out of my drawers and disappearing into the bathroom.

When I returned they had left and my gift told me they had exited the house. Paranoia had me locking the door and sliding into bed for a turbulent night's sleep. The jazzy blues played in the background as a memory of my own haunted me; my father crouched next to me after I fled my mother following another outburst.

“She…She did do this to you? He asked, astounded as if he didn’t know his own wife. Well, I knew her well at this point, if the fading bruises or the slap marks across my face were not proof enough it was like he was just now seeing this. Her manipulative craft was something else. She had bewitched him in the beginning and her only obstacle now was me, but I was not strong enough yet. I knew deep down I could defeat her one day but that day was not today. It had turned out too late for him and every day of my life I would pay for that. Not being enough when it mattered most.

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